The first production Hongqi L5 was bought by an anonymous customer for "at least five million yuan" (about 801,000 USD).

The first production Hongqi L5 was bought by an anonymous customer for "at least five million yuan" (about 801,000 USD).

Initially, the vehicle was sold only to the Chinese government as solution to replace luxury foreign cars and now the Hongqi L5 is available to civilians as well. The first private customer is a wealthy businessman who was willing to pay "at least five million yuan" (about 801,000 USD / 579,000 EUR / 477,000 GBP).

The retro-flavored L5 is 5555mm long, 2018mm wide and 1578mm tall, with a 3435mm wheelbase and tipping the scales at a whopping 7,000 lbs (3,175 kg). Power comes from an aluminum-made V12 6.0-liter engine outputting 402 bhp (302 kW) and 405 lb-ft (548 Nm) of torque sent to the road via a six-speed automatic transmission. The vehicle is built by China's FAW Group and has received a hydro-pneumatic suspension as well as an "intelligent" 4WD system.

Not like it matters a lot, bu tthe L5 has a top speed of 124 mph (200 km/h) and can return only 11.7 mpg US (14.1 mpg UK or 20 liters / 100 km).